When I'm With You
by Perfume and Promises
Summary: Emma and Regina have been dating for six months, and Emma has a surprise for her girlfriend. It's her way of telling the brunette she wants to spent the rest of her life with her and Henry. Takes place after season 3.


Regina was alone. Henry was staying with the Charming's tonight, giving his mom and Emma some time alone. But Emma hadn't arrived yet, and Regina was getting more restless with every passing minute. Emma being late wasn't much of a surprise, but she had hoped the blonde would be on time for once.

When Henry wasn't home, the mansion felt ten times as large. The absence of another person moving around gave the house an empty and dreary feel. So Regina had put some music on to overcome the sense of loneliness the unoccupied rooms gave her.

Why it took the blonde so long to get over here was a mystery to her. She had called her over an hour ago, asking her to come over to do something together. They didn't have many of opportunities like these, so she was determined to make the best of it.

Now that Pan was defeated, Zelena had disappeared and the rest of the town had settled down and found its peace again, most of them had accepted the fact that the Savior and the Evil Queen were together. Although there were a few who were still angry about the whole Curse thing, Regina had managed to ignore them and lived her life the way she wanted. With Emma and her son. And she had to admit, she sometimes even enjoyed being around the Charmings.

She smiled when she thought back at the moment when Emma had asked her on a date. Finally, after months of flirting and obvious sexual tension between the two of them, the blonde had found enough courage to ask her out.

Their date had been wonderful, though a little strained, and after that their relationship had only progressed further. It had been hard to tell Snow and David about them being together, and at first they weren't too happy about it, but it was obvious Regina made their daughter happy, so they eventually gave in.

Henry had been much easier with accepting them as a couple. He had seen it coming for ages, or so he told them, and was happy to have his two mothers together. He would have settled for friends, but this only made it better for him. He had grown tired of the fights between the two women, and it killed both of them to see him so unhappy.

Henry had moved back into his old room at his home at Mifflin street, but Emma still lived apart from them. She had found her own place, not wanting to live with her new found parents forever.

But Emma and her had been dating for six months now, and the sheriff practically lived in the mansion by now. She spends most nights here, but Regina was aware of Emma's doubts to move in with her and Henry. They were both used to living alone, have their own private space, and moving in together would mean giving up most of it. Regina was willing to make those changes, but Emma wasn't ready yet. They had agreed to wait, but that was three months ago.

Looking around the room she was quite satisfied with the results of her preparations. She wanted to create a romantic atmosphere, but didn't want to overdo it.

She let her hand roam over the neatly folded plait that hung over the back of the couch. She hoped it would come in handy when they would cuddle while watching a movie together.

Regina wasn't really a fan of cuddling, but Emma was and the brunette just couldn't resist her when she pouted those pink lips and almost begged her to wrap her arms around the other woman. And even though Regina wasn't very fond of cuddling, when Emma had her wrapped up in her strong arms and lay her head on her shoulder, it wasn't all bad.

The curtains were closed, but she could see two bright car lights driving upon her lawn. Her heart made a little jump. Emma was here. She almost ran towards the front door, though she tried to redeem herself a little. On her way to the entrance hall she looked in the mirror and her eyes scanned over her appearance one last time.

With some final adjustments on her hair, she turned towards the door. A long minute later there was a hesitating knock on the front door. Regina slowly stretched her arm out towards the door knob. She felt nervous, but she tried to look normal.

She opened the door, looking at the person standing outside. Emma looked gorgeous this evening, even more so than usual. She wore her typical jeans with t-shirt. But the shirt she had chosen to wear tonight had a very low neckline, giving the brunette a good view at her cleavage.

She unconsciously licked her lips, and looked up to meet Emma's eyes. Her make-up was minimal. Emma didn't need any too look good. She was a natural beauty. Her blond curls fell perfectly around her face, having been let lose form Emma's frequently present pony tail. She smiled sweetly at Regina.

"Hi." Emma said, keeping her eyes fixed on Regina's

"Well hi there." Regina replied with a wink.

"You look gorgeous." Regina let her eyes wander over Emma's body for the second, but surely not the last time.

"You are the beautiful one, we both know that. Oh, and I'm sorry that I'm late." Emma said, holding up a bouquet of flowers in a form of an excuse.

Regina smiled broadly and accepted them. She loved getting flowers, and Emma knew that. She expected the blonde to explain why she had been late, but Emma made no indication of opening her mouth again. Instead of asking, Regina simply decided not to push any further.

"Do you want to come in?" Regina asked instead, stepping aside to give Emma room to walk inside.

With a nod, Emma walked in, quickly kissing Regina on her cheek. They had exchanged kissed on the cheek so many times before, but somehow Emma always managed to surprise her when she least expected it. And Regina didn't mind at all.

Following Emma with her eyes, she closed the door and took a whiff of the flowers. A nice, sweet aroma filled her nostrils. A small smile crept up on her lips, and she had already forgotten that the other woman had been late.

Emma felt at home here, so she didn't hesitate to walk over to the fridge and grab herself a drink.

"How was your day?" The blonde asked as she took a sip from her newly opened can of beer.

"Normal." She answered with a sigh. "Henry acted weird though. It was like he knew something I didn't and did a pretty bad job at hiding it."

Emma chuckled, but as soon as she saw the glint of fear in Regina's eyes she fell silent. Placing her drink on the counter she walked over to the other woman, who stood still and had her eyes fixed on something on the wall.

Regina hadn't wanted to make it sound so desperate, and as soon as the words had left her mouth, she pressed her lips together in order to prevent more words from escaping. But Emma caught her before she could hide behind her walls. That damn woman saw everything.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking slightly worried.

"It's nothing." Regina said shaking her head. She didn't wanted to voice her fears about this particular subject, not even to Emma.

"I can see something is bothering you." Emma tried again, this time choosing for a more useful approach.

Placing her hands on both Regina's cheeks, she prevented the brunette from turning her head away from her. with her face cupped by Emma's soft, warm hands, Regina found it impossible to escape. She was still reluctant to tell her the truth, but she could at least let her in a little bit. Just enough for the other woman to be satisfied so she would drop the topic.

"With Henry keeping secrets from me, I'm scared he doesn't need me anymore. At least not as much as he used to." She mumbled.

It wasn't the thing she feared the most, but it wasn't a complete lie either. She hoped Emma would believe her and give it a rest.

"Honey, that's normal. He is growing up. He just needs some space. He isn't doing it on purpose, I'm sure."

Because this was not the real problem, she wasn't at least comforted by the answer. But she didn't want to let the other woman know, so she diverted her eyes and nodded lightly.

"But that is not what you're really afraid of, is it?"

Regina didn't look up, but Emma didn't need any conformation from the brunette to tell her she was right.

"I can see when people are lying to me, remember?" Emma said, letting go of Regina's face. She sounded hurt.

"I can understand that this might be a touchy subject for you, but what I don't understand is why you think lying to me about it is going to make it easier in any way."

Regina didn't miss the slightly angry undertone of the blondes voice. She felt guilty for lying to her, but she was afraid of admitting her real fears.

"I can see when you're lying to me Regina, but that isn't going to stop me from wanting to help you. You know that, right?"

This time Emma's voice was clear of anger, and she sounded sincere.

"I know." Regina responded, still avoiding the green eyes that looked intensely at her.

Emma was silent, waiting for the other woman to continue.

"He is acting the same way as he did when he got that book. He looks at me when he thinks I don't see it, keeping track of every move I make. I don't want him to go back to that again. I thought he forgave me, but it looks like he still doesn't trust me. He is holding something back, I just know it."

Regina spat out before she could get a hold on herself. Her words hung between them and she regretted them as soon as they left her lips. But it was too late to take them back now, they were out in the open. And although she didn't wanted to admit it, having her fears spoken out loud felt good.

Emma didn't say anything for a few seconds, and Regina feared she had said too much. But then a broad smile appeared on the blondes face.

"This isn't funny, Emma." Regina hissed.

"Gina, is that what you thought it was?" She paused, seeing conformation in the brown eyes in front of her.

When Regina didn't say anything, Emma continued in a more serious tone.

"I asked Henry to help me prepare a surprise for you. Apparently he took it a little bit too seriously."

Regina was still a little suspicious, but when she saw Emma smiling at her, she lowered her walls and turned the corners of her lips a bit upwards. Emma was honest with her, it was written all over her face.

"So when he was in my office the other day..?" She wanted some clarification. She had punished Henry, but she figured that now she knew the reason behind his behavior, she might have been a little harsh to him.

"I had asked him to hide something in there. But I also told him to do that when you weren't at home so you couldn't find out." Emma said with a wink.

"It seems you didn't train him as well as you thought, Sheriff." Regina replied with a grin on her face.

Emma only laughed out loud at that. It was true after all, and she made a mental note to talk to their son about this. No son of hers would blow up an operation as important as this one up by simply not being careful enough.

Suddenly Regina realized what the blonde just said.

_A surprise hidden in my office…_

She hated surprises, it made her feel like she lost control. But Emma always seemed to find just the right way to do it without making Regina uncomfortable. Leaving Regina in control of the situation, but still managing to surprise the brunette.

Emma took a step back and extender her arm, holding out her hand for the other woman to grab. Regina placed her hand in Emma's, entwining their fingers and letting the blonde lead her away from the kitchen.

When they arrived at the closed door, Emma let go of her hand.

"Close your eyes." She softly says. "And don't you dare to peek!"

Regina lets out a chuckle. Emma knows her too well.

To reassure herself, Emma covers Regina's eyes with her own hands, don't giving her any chance to peek and spoil her surprise. She opens the door and carefully leads the woman in front of her to the middle of the room.

"Keep your eyes shut." She whispers in her ear before retracting her hands from their previous position.

A shiver runs down Regina's spine when she hears Emma's sultry voice and feels the warm puffs of breath against the shell of her ear. When the blonde steppes away though, she is left with nothing but air.

Without her vision to tell her anything, she relies on her hearing. She keeps her breaths shallow to make sure she catches any sound the blonde may make.

When she hears Emma place something on the ground, she barely has any control left to not open her eyes just a little bit to see what is going on in front of her.

Just when she decides to open her eyes just for a bit, she feels Emma's body behind her again. Strong arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"You can open your eyes now." She says, still barely above a whisper.

When she is given permission, she slowly opens her eyes. It's dark, so it takes a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings. Everywhere around her are candles. Their warm light illuminating the otherwise cold room and giving it an almost magical glow.

In front of her, a circle is made with small candles. And in that circle stands a pot, containing something that looks like a plant.

"I know it looks weird, but let me explain." Emma begins before Regina can even form words.

"It's a tree. An apple tree to be exact. I've had a lot of time to come up with a perfect gift to surprise you with. But I needed more than a simply thing such as a necklace for this."

Emma pauses, taking a step away from Regina.

"That's why I decided on this. Since I know how much you love apples and how much you miss your own apple tree."

Regina flinches when Emma mentions her old tree. The Honey Crisp Tree she had taken care of since she was a little girl had been destroyed a few months prior. Some angry villagers had set it on fire when the news about Emma and her had gotten out.

They had been furious and saw this as a fitting punishment for the former Queen. Regina knew Emma still felt guilty about is, and maybe by giving her a new tree, it would relieve the blonde from those feelings. It could never replace her own tree, but it was certainly a very nice gesture.

Emma cleared her throat, pulling Regina out of her thoughts.

"Apple trees stand for love and for loyalty." The sheriff continued, "Once a tree is full grown, it can live for years, surviving the coldest winters and the driest summers. The fruit it produces is full and sweet."

Emma is quiet for a few seconds, but then she stepped away from the tree and takes a few steps toward Regina, now standing in front of her.

"Planting a tree stands for a new life. I want to plant this tree with you, because I want it to symbolize the start of our new life together. As a family. Henry, you and me, in this house. But I also want it to stand for a promise. A promise that I will stay for as long as you will have me. I want to promise both you and Henry that this isn't just a fling for me. I am serious about you, and if you both want me too, I would like to be an official part of this little family from now on."

Emma finishes her speech, now looking in Regina's eyes. She shifts from one foot to the other, uncertain of what Regina will say about her plan. The insecurity is visible in her green eyes, and Regina smiles lovingly at her.

"I- I don't know what to say…" She was truly speechless. Which didn't happen very often. But this, what Emma had told her was so beautiful, she couldn't find the right words to express how the blonde made her feel inside.

"Well, you could just say yes. Or something like that." Emma is told her with a nervous smile.

Regina took a deep breath, giving her time to collect her thoughts before answering in a soft voice.

"Then, yes. I would love to begin a new life with you and Henry." She feels her eyes tear up.

"We've always been a family, but making it official like this sounds really good."

When Emma hears her answer, her green orbs rear up, now matching the watery brown eyes in front of her.

"You really want that?" She hesitantly asks s if she still doesn't believe Regina just said yes to her.

"If that means you will move in here, then yes." Regina says with a smile. The tears are now running freely down her cheeks. She only ever felt this happy once before, and that had been when she got Henry. Her first attempt at a family.

Emma quickly closes the gap between them with one step forward.

Feeling the other woman's strong arms settle around her waist she raises her arms and locks her hands together around Emma's neck, pulling her closer to her. When their lips meet for a soft kiss, it is like all the past insecurities melt away.

The kiss is slow and tender, and that's just what they need right now.

When they break apart, Emma rests her forehead against Regina's her eyes taking in every part of her face. Then she stepped away and holds her hand out for her the second time that evening. As soon as Regina's soft fingers curl around the blondes, Emma reaches out with her fee hand and tightens her grip around the tree.

"Now let's go plant that tree, shall we."

* * *

><p>The cold breeze of night air blew past Regina's arms and she felt goose bumps erupt. Her arms were bare, and it was colder outside then she had expected. But it didn't matter at all, because she was standing in Emma's embrace. Her back was pressed tightly against the blondes front and both were looking at the tree they had just planted.<p>

"It looks good here, doesn't it?" Emma said.

"It sure does."

She turned around, now facing Emma.

"This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you." She kissed Emma, first softly but it quickly turned into something more passionate. Running her tongue over Emma's under lip she silently asks for entrance, which the blonde happily gives.

Regina ran her hands through Emma's blonde curls, feeling the softness of them tickle on her fingers. A soft moan slips past her parted lips and is swallowed by Emma's hot mouth.

Before things can get out of hand, she regains some of her self-control and softly pushes Emma's body away from her. The soft whimper coming from the blonde almost makes Regina close the distance between them again, but that will have to wait for later.

"We are still in the garden, you know." She whispers in Emma's ear.

"Yeah, I know. Like the whole town doesn't know we're together already." Emma jokes.

Regina lets out a soft chuckle. Emma is right of course, but that doesn't make her want her to be seen by people while she is standing in garden making out with the town's sheriff.

_The hot town's sheriff, her sheriff._

"Was this your whole surprise?" Regina asks while taking another step back to look at the just planted tree.

"No, this was just part one. Part two should be waiting for us inside by now." Emma replies with a wink.

"Inside? How could you have done that? You were with me all the time." Regina asks confused.

"I have special talents." Emma smirks, "Including the ability to convince our son to help me out not once, but twice."

"You pulled our innocent young boy into your evil plan? Two times?" Regina tries to be serious, but she cannot hold her laughter. "And let me guess, your parents are involved too?"

"Yes, and he was more than willing to help me, so I'm not the bad guy." Emma adds with an even bigger smirk. "And for my parents, they were only here for supervision and to make sure Henry doesn't burn the place down."

"You didn't pay him, did you?" Regina asks as she wraps her arms around Emma's waist and pulls her a little closer.

"Nope. He just did it out of love." Emma says. "And two new comic books." she adds quasi ashamed.

Regina can only laugh. "That does sound more like him."

"It does. Can I invite you back inside now? We're both cold and hungry." Emma says.

"I would very much like that." Regina holds out her hand for the blonde to grab.

Emma intertwines her fingers with Regina's and slowly starts walking towards the door. Once inside, she doesn't make any move to release the hand she holds, instead she gives it a soft squeeze and pulls Regina slightly closer to her.

"Do I have to close my eyes again?" Regina asks teasingly.

"No, this is already set up for us, your majesty." Emma answers with a smile, "And you only had to close your eyes so you won't find out where I hid your surprise so I can use it again if I ever have to hide stuff in your office." She jokes and she pushes against the door, opening it enough to let both of them through.

The room is lit by many candles, creating a beautiful atmosphere. A table is placed in the middle of the room, decorated with plates, an unlit candle in the middle and a rose on one of the two plates.

Regina's jaw dropped. The setting was simple, but intimate.

"You like it?" The blonde next to her sounded slightly nervous.

"Well, it meets my standards." Regina answered, not able to contain the smirk.

Without another word, Emma walked over to the chair on the left, pulling it back and gesturing to her to sit down.

"Just sit down and relax, although I know that is difficult for you." Emma winked when she said that.

"Don't you even dare to go there." Regina interrupted the other woman before she could say the obvious follow up line.

Both of them were well aware that Emma was referring to the incident that had happened on their second date.

"Oh god no, I wasn't going to mention the fact that you id a waiter in the face when he came up behind you at all."

"That was just as much your fault as it was mine, dear, we both know that." Regina said in a sultry voice. "After all, what kind of idiot would take someone on a date to an 'All dark restaurant' where the staff wears rubber soled shoes."

"I did." Emma replied with a proud grin. "But don't tell me you didn't secretly enjoyed it."

"I might have just a bit. And it's not like that man hadn't deserved it. He had been staring at my ass ever since we came in."

"How would you know? It was _dark, _you wouldn't have been able to see your own ass even if you tried to."

"I just knew. Woman can feel unwanted eyes without actually being able to see them." Regina tried to convince the blonde, but to no avail.

"That's bullshit, Gina." Emma giggled. "You just didn't like how he had complemented on my perfume."

"Well…" Regina considered that option for a few seconds before continuing, "Maybe that was also a reason, but only a very small one. And besides, what kind of man would point out a woman's perfume when she obviously has a hot date with her?"

"Your right about the 'hot' part. I mean, damn, that red dress you wore still does things to me when I only think about it." Emma winked and Regina faked a scowl in response.

"But instead of making up reasons that I won't believe anyway, you could just tell me I'm right."

"Never." Regina said with a bright smile.

They've had this conversation many times, but it never failed to make both woman smile. They loved to banter about this particular memory, and even though their responses were always exactly the same, that didn't matter to either of them.

"Okay, so part of this surprise is something I want to show you. I've been practicing this for days now, and it finally worked this morning." Emma said, a mysterious grin on her face.

"Okay…"

"I know that sounded a little weird, but just watch."

Emma sat up right and turned towards the centre of the table. She focused her eyes on the candle and lifted her hand towards it.

Regina had a gut feeling she knew where this was going, and she couldn't suppress a smile. She had been teaching Emma magic for a while now, and it had been slow, but the blonde had made progress the past few months.

She saw Emma's jaw tighten and her forehead crinkle up a little bit. Regina always loved it when she did that, it looked cute and made her want to lean over and kiss the blonde on the tip of her nose. The brunette lay her eyes on the candle and waited.

Emma took a deep breath and called up the magic from within her. She felt tension bundle up in her abdomen. It felt warm and tingly. It slowly spread from there to the rest of her body, mostly going upward into her arms and slowly creeping down until it reached her hands. It felt like her palms were on fire, but it felt good. She lifted her right arm slowly but steady, up towards the top of the candle.

She focused all her energy on getting the white hot magic to sprout from her hands, and with just a little bit of effort, it gracefully flowed from her opened palm and onto the wick.

A small orange flame lit up from it, and Emma almost jumped up from excitement. Tentatively she looked up at Regina, a big smile on her face.

"well dear, that was certainly surprising." The other woman tried to sound cool, but Emma immediately saw joy in Regina's eyes.

"Like I said earlier, I'm full of surprises." Emma said with a wink.

"I know you are, Emma." Regina was quiet for a short second, locking her brown eyes with Emma's green ones. "But what you just managed to do was really impressive, and I am proud of you."

She sounded sincere, and all Emma could do was smile even brighter because at the moment, she couldn't find the right words and her throat had closed up. She knew how much magic meant to Regina, and how careful the other woman was with it, but what Emma just showed her was that she had practiced and that meant a lot to Regina.

"Thank you." Emma finally managed to get out.

Both were silent now, just looking at each other and smiling lovingly.

"Well, I think it would be wise if we started dinner now. I don't want my girlfriend to starve." Emma said as she stood up.

"No, that would certainly not be the most wished ending of this night." Regina replied, smirk clearly visible in her voice.

"Let's get to work Swan."

* * *

><p>Dinner went swimmingly. Emma had made something she was sure Regina liked, the woman's own famous lasagne. But she gave it her own little twist, and the brunette seemed to love it even more than usual.<p>

They left the dishes behind, neither really in the mood to clean them up now.

"So, I thought it would be nice if we watched a movie. I know that sounds a bit boring, but I rented a scary one." Emma said while pulling her hair up into a pony tail.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Regina answered. She never really liked scary movies, but Emma did, and it gave the brunette a valid reason to practically sit in Emma's lap without needing to explain herself.

Together they walked towards the living room. Emma made a small detour to fetch the DVD from her bag that she left in the hall. _Jeepers Creepers, _the title on the cover said. It was one of Emma's favourite movies, and she couldn't wait to share it with Regina.

She snickered to herself, already knowing Regina would be scared, but would try to hide it. There was a big plus to this situation though, she would use Emma as her own personal protector, which would result in the other woman cuddling close to her. And there wasn't a day that Emma would reject cuddles from the woman she loves.

Opening the box, she placed the disc in the DVD player and walked back to the couch. Regina already had the remote in hand, even now being in control of the situation. Emma smiled at her and sat back on the couch, next to the brunette, but still with several inches of space between them.

The movie began to play and both of them sank back into the couch, trying to find a more comfortable position. It wasn't long before they ended up with their shoulders touching. Regina rested her head on Emma's shoulder, softly commenting on the events that played out on the screen. From time to time both woman jumped a little when something caught them by surprise.

Emma loved this, the feel of Regina so close to her. Sure, they did this often, but still, watching a movie together always felt more special for some reason. And even more so if it was eithers favourite movie. It felt like sharing something of yourself with the other, and when Emma saw one of Regina's favourites, she felt closer to the woman.

That the brunettes favourite movie was _Shrek_, didn't matter.

When the end credits began to roll, Regina threw the blanket off her legs and stretched her body, effectively slamming her left hand into Emma's chest. Neither of them paid any attention to it though, it wasn't the first time something like this happened, and certainly not the last.

"So…" Emma said, trying not to let a yawn escape. She wasn't tired, she was just relaxed, or so she told herself.

"It was a pretty good movie to be honest." Regina answered, standing up from the couch and walking towards the kitchen.

"Would you like some beer?" She called out over her shoulder.

"Yes, you don't even have to ask that." Emma replied with a wink that Regina couldn't see, but that didn't matter.

Emma too stood up and stretched her arms out above her head. She heard her shoulders pop, and she stretched them a bit more, enjoying the slight feeling of pain.

She turned towards the bookcase at the other end of the room. She practically knew every book that was in it, but she still let her eyes scant the titles one by one. Regina, by no surprise, had her books ordered on alphabetical order. On the lowest shelf, were three brown leather books positioned.

The photo albums.

Emma crouched down before it and pulled the first one off its shelf. Walking back to the couch, she placed it in her lap and opened it on the first page. There, Regina held baby Henry in her arms, pressing a kiss to his forehead with both their eyes closed. Emma never asked who took this picture, but she was almost sure it was not Regina's idea. Someone had been brave enough to secretly take it. Bless their soul.

She never heard the brunette come back, but when the couch dipped in next to her, she looked up from the open book in her lap.

"I really like this picture, you know." She said, looking at it again. "When I gave him up, my biggest fear what that he could end up like I did. But this photo shows me the exact opposite."

"How so?" Regina asks.

"I never had very nice foster parents. I never saw them look at me the way you look at Henry. Even in this picture, where you only just got him, I see so much love. And I'm so glad that Henry ended up with you, because you gave him what I've always wanted."

Emma sniffs softly, and Regna places her hand on her knee.

"I loved him more than anything else in the world, you know that. Not only because he is our son, but also because he gave me a chance to let myself love again. And I'm glad I had that chance, because if I hadn't, I would never have let you in."

"Thank god you did." Emma says with a grin.

Regina chuckled and turned the page of the album that was still in the blondes lap. Both of them smiled affectively when they looked at the next picture. It was Henry as a toddler, wearing some sort of bear themed onesie, stretched out on the same couch they were sitting on right now with his thumb in his mouth. Half asleep, but still focused on the window in front of him.

Under the picture, Regina's handwriting told them what was happening outside that was so special for Henry to keep fighting his sleep.

_Henry sees his first snow_

The little boy looked very impressed, and the next series of photos showed him in his winter outfit playing in the snow. Building a snowman and making snow angels. He looked more than cute with his green beanie on his head and his blue winter coat.

"He's very cute, but I keep missing a very important person in the pictures." Emma pointed out and looked at the woman sitting next to her.

"Hush, someone had to take the pictures, and I was perfectly content behind the camera."

"But now I'm missing the most beautiful woman in the world." Emma pouted.

"I am sitting right here, dear."

"Yeah, I know." Emma said, winking at the other woman. "And for now, I'll settle with the real life version. I have much better plans for her anyway."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

That was all Emma said before she leaned forwards, her forehead touching Regina's. The blonde closed her eyes for a second, allowing herself some time to take a deep breath before opening them again. Regina had her eyes locked on hers, silently asking her permission to kiss her. With a small nod, Emma told the other woman it was okay, and without any further delay, the brunette touched Emma's lips softly with her own.

The kiss started out slow and gentle, and Regina's pulse quickened ever so slightly. This kiss wasn't about passion, but the brunette could feel her own desire starting to burn low in her stomach. Kissing Emma never felt the same twice. Even though she had memorized the feeling of the other woman's lips a long time ago.

It still surprised her every time their mouths connected how much feeling the other woman could put into the kiss. Of course there was a difference between them, Regina could easily tell them apart and tell what mood Emma was in, just by the way she kissed her.

She felt Emma's lips move down to the left corner of her mouth, and from there she went down to her jaw. She threw her head back so the other woman could reach her neck more easily. Emma got the hint, and moved her lips down until they connected with her neck, just below her ear.

Regina sighed and let her hands wander over the other woman's sides. She pulled Emma closer to her, needing to feel all of her. The blonde lifted her head, and connected their lips again. This time the kiss felt a lot more urgent, but still gentle.

"Let's go upstairs." Emma whispered in Regina's ear, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Regina nodded and stood up from the couch, the long forgotten photo album falling on the ground. The older woman pulled Emma up by her hands and started walking towards the stairs, tugging Emma along with her.

Once upstairs, both woman walked straight to the bedroom. As soon as they get inside, Emma closed the door, more out of habit than that it's actually necessary.

She felt Regina's arms around her waist, slowly moving upwards and taking Emma's shirt with her. She feels it being pulled over her head, and as soon as the brunette has her hands free, Emma connected their lips again. Without breaking the kiss, they remove their clothing piece by piece until they are both in their underwear.

Emma pushed Regina backwards until her legs collided with the bed. Overcome by a sudden need to hear the other woman moan, Emma tangled her fingers into the chocolate brown locks and softly started massaging the other woman's skull. This has the effect she wanted, and Regina lets out a tiny moan.

With one push, they fell backwards together, a mess of hair and limbs. Emma ended up on top of Regina and moved her head down, planting kisses on her collarbone and slowly going lower.

Now both lying on the bed, Emma started kissing her way down Regina's body. Starting with her shoulder where she is met with the strap of red fabric. Without thinking, Emma she slipped it down her arm. Regina sat up a bit so that the blonde could reach behind her to unclasp her bra.

As soon as that barrier between them is gone, Emma abandoned her shoulder altogether and started kissing her collarbone.

Once she had reached the brunettes nipple, she took the pink bud between her thumb and index finger and pinched it. Regina moaned and rolled her head back, pressing more of her breast into Emma's hand. The blonde moved her lips down and took the her other nipple in her mouth.

Regina moaned again, unable to keep quiet while Emma is doing this to her.

She looks down, and is greeted with Emma looking up at her, lips still around her nipple, but her green eyes resting on her own brown ones. Neither say a word, they just look at each other. When they are together like this, there is no need for talking.

Regina felt a hand leave her left breast and move down her stomach. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling it gave her. A single finger touched her navel, and that simple action resulted in a shot of arousal and a needy moan escaping her parted lips.

Emma released her nipple and tilted her head upwards again. The brunette opened her eyes for a second and their eyes met.

"I love you." Emma whispered as she lets her hand wander down until she is met with soft curls.

Regina could only groan in response, unable to form any words, but Emma understood. The blonde let her face hover above Regina's, lips so close they were almost touching. Regina moved her head just slightly upwards and felt her lips collide with the ones in front of her.

At that exact moment, she felt Emma's fingers moving lower, into her wet folds. She pressed her clit once with her thumb, and before Regina could even let out a moan, she feels the other woman's fingers find her entrance and slowly pushing her fingers inside.

"Oh God…" Is all that Regina can manage get out.

Emma doesn't move her finger for a few short seconds, giving the brunette time to adjust at the sudden intrusion. Soon enough, Regina starts to get restless, and that's the sign Emma needed. She pulls her finger out until only the tip is still inside the other woman.

She doesn't stop this time, and pushed it in again. Finding a steady rhythm, she sucked at the brunettes pulse point in her neck. Regina is making all sorts of noises, from moans to desperate cries, and this urges her on. She added another finger and pressed her thumb to the brunettes throbbing bundle of nerves.

Her own centre was begging for attention, and she repositioned herself. She felt Regina's thigh slip between her own and she lowered herself down on it. Regina understood what she was trying to do, and she pressed her leg against Emma's dripping core.

Regina heard Emma moan, and she felt the other woman starting to move, rubbing against her leg.

It didn't take long before Regina was writhing against the bed and moaning uncontrollably. The blonde turned up the pace of her fingers. Her own movements against the brunette's leg grew more frantic, and Regina knew she was close. Emma bit the soft flesh of Regina's neck.

That was all the brunette needed to tumble over the edge and come undone with a scream. Emma looked at her, never growing tired of seeing the person she loved climax. It didn't take long for Emma to follow, coming while screaming Regina's name.

Emma slowed her fingers and helped Regina come down from her high. She felt the brunette relax, and she carefully pulled her fingers all the way out. She rolled of the other woman, and flopped down beside her.

She kissed Regina again, but only for a few seconds.

"That was amazing." Regina said as soon as she got her breathing under control.

"Yes it was." Emma said, smiling brightly.

Regina felt her eyelids grow heavy, but she fought them, wanting to stay awake a little while longer. She reached out and found Emma's hand. She intertwined their fingers and brought their joined hands up to her lips, pressing a kiss to the blondes knuckles.

"This was a good day." She whispered.

Emma hummed. Regina looked at the blonde and noticed her eyes were closed. She yawned and felt the blonde snuggle closer. Regina wrapped both her arms around the other woman and let her chin rest on top of the blondes head.

"I love you, Emma."

"I love you too."

* * *

><p>It was dark in the room, and Emma's soft snore was the only sound Regina could hear. She felt at ease in the blondes arms, but something was nagging her. She slowly moved away from Emma and got up from the bed. Emma stirred and made some incoherent noises, but they died down soon.<p>

Regina walked towards the big window and moved the curtain aside. Looking outside into her garden, her eyes looked for the spot where their newly planted tree would be. It was dark outside, but because of one of the streetlamps that shown its light right into her garden, she could vaguely make out the form of a tree.

It stood there proudly, and Regina felt a jolt of love and happiness surge through her. This meant a life with Emma, and she knew a lot of people would just see it as a tree, but for them, it was a symbol. A symbol of love, family and belonging. It stood for a second change, not only for her, but also for Emma.

She smiled, her life was going to take a great turn. And the best thing, she wouldn't be alone. She had Emma and Henry, and yes, even the Charmings were part of her family now.

She shivered, it was cold and she longed for the warmth Emma's arms gave her. With one last look at the tree, she turned around and made her way back to their bed.

She snuggled back into Emma's embrace and placed a light kiss onto the blondes forehead. Emma pulled her closer in her sleep and mumbled something Regina couldn't quite understand. That didn't matter though. She closed her eyes and said one last thing before she let herself fall asleep again.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

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><p>I hope you liked it, reviews are appreciated.<p> 


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